I love Eppy’s. Their no-frills food, although incredibly unhealthy, is almost always good and cheap. Let’s see how the grilled cheese was.

Overall appearance: 6 Looked ok but I could immediately tell it would be dry.Overall taste: 7 Nice flavors, just a little bland, and very dry.Size: 8 Teeny tiny, but appropriate for the price.Greasiness: 5 There was no grease. At all.Cheese (quality and quantity): 9 Gooey, melted all the way through, and tasty.Carbohydrate Delivery System: 8 Normal, white bread.Price: 9 $2.50 OK for the quality.Extras: 9 No inclusions, but the price warrants that.Service and timing: 10 Eppy’s isn’t known for their friendliness, but they grow on you the more you go.Accuracy of order: 10

My family recently went on a lovely vacation to Bethany Beach, Delaware. A friend found out we were going and gave me a gift card to The Back Porch Cafe in Rehoboth, which is about a 30-minute drive north of Bethany. We had planned on cooking our own meals while on vacation, so this was a welcomed surprise since the Back Porch is known as a more gourmet destination in that area. We decided to make a reservation on Father’s Day for 11:00, when it opened, figuring it would be the best time to take a toddler.

The building is on the main strip in Rehoboth, amongst typical souvenir shops and a Hooters right across the street. The restaurant is charming, with a bright blue exterior and its entrance off of the street. A friendly dog greets you as you arrive.

Our brunch menu:

We started with the cheese and fruit plate, as we knew all three of us would enjoy it. We were just a bit disappointed, as the two cheeses seemed pretty standard, but overall it was enjoyable (Anabel ate most of it).

Matt ordered a glass of the champagne from Domaine Carneros but this is what he got:

When we received our check we realized that it was the “Havana Daydream,” a very un-Matt-like drink, but he was a good sport about it. I got a very delicious Bloody Mary. I also took a chance and ordered the blue cheese and pear omelette. I should have trusted my instincts and not ordered this. I did not care for the combination of the sweet and syrupy pears in eggs, but maybe someone else would have really enjoyed this. I also would have liked more cheese, but it was the same blue cheese as was on the cheese plate so it didn’t matter too much. The eggs were more rubbery than fluffy. The potatoes: perfection. Crispy and chewy and almost burned, just the way I like them.

Matt loved his scallops and cleaned his plate. I, for one, can’t eat non-breakfast food before noon, so I didn’t try it, but he really enjoyed the flavors and the scallops were done well.

I was so happy to have a chance to try a fine-dining restaurant on our vacation, but I hope to go back some day for dinner to get a true feel for the place, and give them another chance at impressing me with their food.

You gotta love Tommy’s. They never go on vacation and they really have the cheapest prices on campus. The husband and wife are sweet, too. The food is average, but fine and almost like home cooked.

I mean, just look at these prices:

Let’s see how their grilled cheese scored.

Overall appearance: 9 Looked good, although it is a tiny sandwich.Overall taste: 8 Nice flavors, just a little bland.Size: 8 Teeny tiny, but appropriate for the price.Greasiness: 9 Just about perfect.Cheese (quality and quantity): 8 Gooey, melted all the way through, but it could have used one more slice (see price).Carbohydrate Delivery System: 8 Thin, white bread.Price: 10 $2.00 Perfect for the quality.Extras: 9 No inclusions, but the price warrants that.Service and timing: 10 Quick and friendly.Accuracy of order: 10

Overall appearance: 10Nice shape and size, good toasting on the bread, wrapped in waxed paper.Overall taste: 9Nice flavors, just a little bland.Size: 9Not too big, not too small.Greasiness: 9Just about perfect. Could have been a bit moister on the inside.Cheese (quality and quantity): 10Ooey gooey white sliced (probably) cheese, melted all the way through. Carbohydrate Delivery System: 9Thick, white bread Price: 10$2.75Perfect for the quality. A standard grilled cheese shouldn’t be over $3.Extras: 9No inclusions, but the price warrants that.Service and timing: 10Quick (although it was technically before noon–later in the lunch hour it gets crowded) and friendly Accuracy of order: 10

Let the battle continue. This is proving harder than I expected as most of the trucks have boarded up shop for the summer. Richie’s is one of the most popular food stands on campus, and I have yet to figure out why. Most of what I have ever ordered there has been mediocre and the service isn’t incredible. How did Richie’s do in my grilled cheese battle? Not great.

Overall appearance: 8 Not toasted quite enough–too much whiteOverall taste: 6 It was quite tasteless, even with the ham added in.Size: 8 Not too big, not too small.Greasiness: 5 Not enough! Did they grill it without butter? It was SO dry. Dryer than E & E’s.Cheese (quality and quantity): 6 Tasteless and not very much in there. But maybe they under-compensated because I asked for ham.Carbohydrate Delivery System: 6 Average white bread that was barely toasted.Price: 5 $3.75 because I ordered ham. A regular grilled cheese would have been $3 and would have been way to much for the quality.Extras: 8 None included but I ordered ham for an extra $.75. Two slices of really cheap ham.Service and timing: 7 Not very friendly and I had to wait a while, I think because lots of people had placed advanced orders.Accuracy of order: 9 It was almost a lower score. They gave my sandwich to someone else but caught their mistake as she was walking away.

I went back to basics this time. Not every grilled cheese is “gourmet,” ya know. E&E is a newer truck on the south end of campus right outside of Ritter Hall. Let’s see how they fared:

Overall appearance: 10Nice shape and size, good toasting on the bread.Overall taste: 8It tasted like a standard grilled cheese–nothing special but, as I’ve said before, it’s hard to mess up a grilled cheese.Size: 8Not too big, not too small.Greasiness: 6 Not enough! Did they grill it without butter? It was dry.Cheese (quality and quantity): 7Ooey gooey processed sliced cheese. But it didn’t extend to the crusts, which was a disappointment. Carbohydrate Delivery System: 8Average white breadPrice: 7$2.75 OK for a standard grilled cheese but $2.25 would be fairer.Extras: 8None included (see price)Service and timing: 10 Quick and friendlyAccuracy of order: 10

At first I was wary of the Cheese Busz, as it moved in next door to the crepe truck, blasting weird techno music over the crepe guys’ classics. But then I realized that a little competition is good for everyone (and I don’t always want a crepe, you know). So, they’re next in the Grilled Cheese Battle of 2012.

Overall appearance: 9Nice shape and size, good toasting on the bread, wrapped in paper.Overall taste: 7Nice flavors, just a little bland.Size: 8Not too big, not too small.Greasiness: 9Just about perfect. Cheese (quality and quantity): 9Ooey gooey mozzerella. Carbohydrate Delivery System: 10White bread, but not just any white bread. It seemed almost artisenal. Price: 8$4.50 Reasonable for the quality, but there are cheaper sandwiches on campus.Extras: 9The pesto and tomato were included.Service and timing: 9Cheese Busz is quick even when there are a ton of people waiting for food, but they could work a little on their congeniality. Accuracy of order: 10